"You came really fast."
Kyouraku Shunsui glanced toward the approaching figure of Mazuru and muttered with a faint smile. The tone was light, but the weariness behind his eyes betrayed how prepared he had been for this encounter.
Mazuru's steps were calm and steady, his expression indifferent. There was no trace of hostility or tension in his eyes, even in front of one of the oldest and most enigmatic captains of the Gotei 13.
When Ashido spotted Mazuru, his temper immediately flared. "Kyo Mazuru, you traitor!"
He clenched his fists tightly, his reiatsu surging slightly.
For Ashido, the emotions were still fresh. The betrayal stung even now.
He had once trusted Mazuru—had fought beside him, respected him as a comrade. It was Mazuru who had led him back to Soul Society from Hueco Mundo years ago. And to think that the very same man, along with Aizen Sosuke and Tousen Kaname, had orchestrated the calamity that had befallen the Seireitei... it was beyond comprehension.
"Mazuru, Aizen, Tousen … all of you. Every one of you are traitors, one worse than the next!"
His voice cracked with fury.
Ashido was not just a warrior. He was a man who held tightly to the past. In the last major battle in Hueco Mundo more than a year ago, he'd chosen to remain in Soul Society precisely because of that emotional conflict—because of his bond with Mazuru. He had hoped there was still some part of the man worth saving.
But after seeing the outcome of that battle—after seeing even the Head-Captain defeated by Mazuru without hesitation—he was filled with nothing but regret.
'I should've gone', he thought bitterly. 'Maybe things would've turned out differently.'
(T.L Note: Yeah? Like what?)
That very regret was why he had volunteered to come this time—why he was so determined to find and confront Mazuru. That, and because the current Kenpachi Azashiro was the man who had slain Kenpachi Kuruyashiki.
But Mazuru didn't even spare Ashido a glance.
He had heard the word "traitor" more times than he could count. Soul Society hurled it at him endlessly. But Mazuru had never been one to live by others' expectations. If he cared about public opinion, he would never have followed Aizen into the darkness.
Zaraki Kenpachi, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes and stepped forward.
"Mazuru", he growled, "Where the hell did you hide Yachiru?"
His voice carried a subtle tremble—less of fear and more of uncertain rage.
That question had haunted him ever since the events of that disastrous battle over a year ago. It was one of the reasons he'd risked coming to Hueco Mundo in the first place. But the chaos of that encounter had prevented him from confronting Mazuru about it.
"Yachiru?" Mazuru looked genuinely surprised, then frowned. "What are you rambling about? Hasn't she always been with you? Her disappearance has nothing to do with me."
Zaraki was taken aback. He quickly looked around him—there was no sign of her anywhere.
'What the hell is he talking about...?'
Seeing the bewildered expression, Mazuru sighed.
"Perhaps she's unwilling to show herself before you. If you're truly desperate to see her… after returning to Soul Society, go to Urahara Kisuke. Ask him for a Tenshintai."
Zaraki's eyes twitched. That name—Urahara Kisuke—always brought more questions than answers. But he tucked that piece of information away. He wasn't good with explanations, but he understood Mazuru wasn't lying.
Mazuru, meanwhile, turned his attention back to Shunsui.
He had dismissed Ashido entirely. The man was inconsequential.
"You've come to Hueco Mundo." Mazuru said. "You should know this is my territory."
Shunsui gave a faint nod, his straw hat shading his eyes from the eternal white sun above.
"I figured you'd find us sooner or later." he replied with an unreadable expression. "In fact, I was counting on it."
There was a faint note of sadness in his voice that made Mazuru narrow his eyes.
'Something's off.'
Just then, Shunsui turned to Ashido and Zaraki. "Captain Zaraki, Vice-Captain Ashido… take your target and leave this place."
"What?! Captain Kyouraku?" Ashido blinked, stunned.
But Zaraki was still pondering Mazuru's earlier comment about the Tenshintai. He muttered something under his breath and allowed Ashido to drag him along. Roka—the female arrancar—was still unconscious from the earlier encounter and carried between them.
Mazuru took one step forward, intending to block their retreat.
But Shunsui's voice rang out clearly:
"The wind of flowers is fluttering, the god of flowers is singing, the wind of heaven is chaotic, the demon of heaven is laughing — Katen Kyōkotsu!"
As the Shikai incantation completed, his Zanpakutō transformed into dual blades. In the oppressive white heat of Hueco Mundo, the shadows beneath Mazuru stretched long across the desert floor.
Shunsui's figure vanished in an instant.
A moment later, a blade struck—not at Mazuru's body, but his shadow.
A massive blade of darkness burst upward from the ground, shaped by the illusionary rules of Katen Kyōkotsu.
*Shunk!*
The shadow blade pierced Mazuru cleanly through the back. It exited near his heart, but his expression remained completely unchanged.
He did not even flinch.
As Shunsui held the pose, blade deep in Mazuru's shadow, he sensed Ashido and Zaraki finally retreating with Roka.
'That's all I needed to do.'
This wasn't about defeating Mazuru—no, that wasn't realistic. The goal was to buy time.
Ashido understood this as well. For all his hot-blooded nature, he recognized the weight behind Shunsui's sacrifice.
He clenched his jaw. 'We'll wait until Captain Kyouraku returns… he will return.'
The only issue was—none of them had taken the communication device to contact Kurotsuchi Mayuri. There was no way to open a Garganta back to Soul Society yet. It was an oversight, but one they would have to endure until Shunsui rejoined them.
Back in the desert, Mazuru looked down at the black blade impaling him, then up at Shunsui.
"That was a decisive strike… not your usual style."
He sounded mildly impressed.
"You used to be lazy, you know? Always slow to start, always messing around before you got serious."
He glanced at the blade embedded in his chest.
"This isn't like you."
Shunsui's expression darkened, and his eyes narrowed.
"Mazuru… do you know?"
There was no smile now. No poetic phrasing.
"I regret it now."
The wind swept across the endless sands of Hueco Mundo, but the silence between the two captains—former and current—was heavier than steel.
This wasn't just a battle of blades.
*****
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